Bus service faces bumpy road ahead

Published: Friday, November 1, 2013 at 04:25 PM.

In the coming year, Okaloosa County officials say they will look to local municipalities to pay their fair share of local public transit costs.

The shift in thinking comes as local bus routes in Crestview and Destin once again are in danger of being eliminated because of dwindling federal, state and local dollars available to Okaloosa County Transit. County commissioners say they can’t continue to subsidize a service that’s leaking money.

“We have to be able to say with a straight face that the system we’re providing — that is partially supported by tax revenues at the local level — passes the cost-benefit test,” Commissioner Nathan Boyles said.

The county needs a system that’s “narrowly tailored” to benefit targeted areas, he said.

“That’s probably the population centers of the county, which means the county can’t be doing this alone for the cities,” Boyles added.

County commissioners in September gave Destin six months to come up with funding to save Route 33, which provides service between Destin Commons to Silver Sands Premium Outlets.

The county and Crestview each has contributed about $13,000 to keep Routes 11 and 12 — which run between City Hall and P.J. Adams Parkway — running through the end of January. At that point, city and county officials hope to fund the routes with a portion of the revenue from the new 3-cent gasoline tax increase.

“I’m not convinced at the end of the day what will come out of it is a system that’s viable as a transportation tool, but I’m willing to give the city of Crestview a shot,” Boyles said.
He said funding for the Fort Walton Beach routes — which attract the bulk of Okaloosa County Transit’s riders — also likely to come under “careful scrutiny” in 2014.

Many county officials say that local buy-in is vital if public transit is to survive.

“It’s just not viable to run transit in distant subdivisions at low density,” said Elliot Kampert, the county’s growth management director. “You’ll never get any riders or meaningful revenue out there, so almost by default you’re serving the cities.”

But selling cities on pledging their tax dollars to the buses could be a challenge.

Fort Walton Beach City Councilman Trey Goodwin said he would be “very hesitant” to spend city funds.

“For Fort Walton Beach, it’s not money well spent,” he said. “I have concerns about under utilization. … We’re a driving city. We drive where we’re going. That’s just the way we’re set up.”

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In the coming year, Okaloosa County officials say they will look to local municipalities to pay their fair share of local public transit costs.

The shift in thinking comes as local bus routes in Crestview and Destin once again are in danger of being eliminated because of dwindling federal, state and local dollars available to Okaloosa County Transit. County commissioners say they can’t continue to subsidize a service that’s leaking money.

“We have to be able to say with a straight face that the system we’re providing — that is partially supported by tax revenues at the local level — passes the cost-benefit test,” Commissioner Nathan Boyles said.

The county needs a system that’s “narrowly tailored” to benefit targeted areas, he said.

“That’s probably the population centers of the county, which means the county can’t be doing this alone for the cities,” Boyles added.

County commissioners in September gave Destin six months to come up with funding to save Route 33, which provides service between Destin Commons to Silver Sands Premium Outlets.

The county and Crestview each has contributed about $13,000 to keep Routes 11 and 12 — which run between City Hall and P.J. Adams Parkway — running through the end of January. At that point, city and county officials hope to fund the routes with a portion of the revenue from the new 3-cent gasoline tax increase.

“I’m not convinced at the end of the day what will come out of it is a system that’s viable as a transportation tool, but I’m willing to give the city of Crestview a shot,” Boyles said.
He said funding for the Fort Walton Beach routes — which attract the bulk of Okaloosa County Transit’s riders — also likely to come under “careful scrutiny” in 2014.

Many county officials say that local buy-in is vital if public transit is to survive.

“It’s just not viable to run transit in distant subdivisions at low density,” said Elliot Kampert, the county’s growth management director. “You’ll never get any riders or meaningful revenue out there, so almost by default you’re serving the cities.”

But selling cities on pledging their tax dollars to the buses could be a challenge.

Fort Walton Beach City Councilman Trey Goodwin said he would be “very hesitant” to spend city funds.

“For Fort Walton Beach, it’s not money well spent,” he said. “I have concerns about under utilization. … We’re a driving city. We drive where we’re going. That’s just the way we’re set up.”